England v Norway - player ratings

England v Norway - player ratings

1/14
Joe Hart: 6

Great pair of saves to deny Joshua King in the second half, having been a spectator for most of the night.

2/14
John Stones: 5

Got forward a few times down the right, but would surely have been more useful to see him in his best position at centre back.

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3/14
Gary Cahill: 5

Sloppy back-pass presented King with a good chance, and the Chelsea defender was caught out for pace on a couple of occasions.

4/14
Phil Jones: 5

Didn’t have much to deal with, but won a few good headers

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5/14
Leighton Baines: 6

Trademark burst forward in the first half almost led to a goal, and was a useful attacking option down the left flank as Raheem Sterling roamed infield.

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6/14
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5

Went on a few good runs early on, but he needs to start offering more goals and assists. Withdrawn with 20 minutes remaining.

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7/14
Jack Wilshere: 6

Good performance, full of energy and driving runs forward, and unlucky not to win first-half penalty. Taken off after 70 minutes.

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8/14
Jordan Henderson: 5

Neat and tidy in possession, but could have been a touch more adventurous against weak opponents.

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9/14
Raheem Sterling: 7

England’s best player. Looked a cut above with his touch, vision and ability to glide pass defenders. His lofted through ball to Daniel Sturridge in the first half was a peach, and he won the penalty after racing past Omar Elabdellaoui.

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10/14
Daniel Sturridge: 6

Linked up well with Sterling and showed some nice touches, but will be disappointed to have missed a couple of decent chances.

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11/14
Wayne Rooney: 5

Largely anonymous, but buried the penalty well. Taken off for the last 20 minutes.

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12/14
James Milner: 5

Got one pass horribly wrong, and could have done better when put through by Sterling late on.

13/14
Fabian Delph: 6

Looked bright on his debut, with some good tackles and a couple of incisive passes.

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14/14
Danny Welbeck: 6

Added directness to the England attack when he came on, and nearly scored straight away with decent effort that was blocked by Orjan Nyland.

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Sterling’s pace and trickery not only won the decisive penalty but he was at the hub of all England’s best moves.

He combined regularly with his Liverpool team-mate, including one super 40-yard pass into Sturridge’s path only for the forward to lift his lob on to the roof of the net.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who did not feature at the World Cup after sustaining an injury on the eve of the tournament, also provided good width on his return to the starting XI and will surely line up against the Swiss.

Who else impressed?

Joe Hart. England’s No1 had a disappointing World Cup and was at fault for Stoke’s goal against Manchester City last weekend but he looked more like his old self, especially when he pulled off two fine second-half saves with the game still in the balance. He first tipped Joshua King’s header superbly past the post and later blocked his effort from close range. England will need similar resolve from Hart to return from Basle unbeaten.

Any cause for concern?

England looked unconvincing at the back, and to make matters worse, first-choice central defender Gary Cahill limped off late on with an ankle injury. He did not have the best of games before then and has not started the campaign in a Chelsea shirt as well as he would have hoped for either.

The performance of his partner, Phil Jones, was far from convincing either, especially when King ran past him with ease after Cahill had given the ball away.

Should Cahill fail to recover for the trip to Switzerland, Hodgson has Phil Jagielka and Calum Chambers, who both came on as substitutes, to call upon. They each have question marks against them. Jagielka is still unconvincing at this level, while Chambers obviously lacks experience after making his England debut last night.

Will Hodgson make changes?

It’s unlikely. The options he had on the bench at Wembley do not inspire much confidence, although Danny Welbeck looked sharp when he came on. The 23-year-old already appears refreshed after leaving his frustration at Manchester United behind to join Arsenal for £16million on deadline day. However, captain Wayne Rooney, Sturridge, Sterling and Oxlade-Chamberlain should all keep their place. Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere gelled reasonably well in central midfield and John Stones did not look out of place at right-back.